1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to patient lifting equipment. In particular, the present invention relates to a patient lifting apparatus for lifting and transferring incapacitated persons to and from a bed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Persons confined to a bed due to illness, age, obesity and so forth often have such limited mobility that movement or transfer from their bed is extremely difficult. It is well known to provide such persons with a patient lift to hoist the person from the bed and move him or her into a wheel chair or other desired location. Most such prior art patient lifts permit the patient to be raised or lowered and also permit the patient to be swiveled away from the bed about a vertical support member.
For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,554,691 and 5,459,891, patient lifting devices are disclosed in which a vertical support member is attached to support brackets which are secured to a floor and to a ceiling. A boom extends from the vertical support member and can be raised and lowered to lift the patient. However, the support brackets make these devices difficult to install in many locations where a permanent installation is undesirable (e.g., a temporary home care situation).
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,144,713, 5,560,054, 5,845,348, 5,987,664, 6,026,523 and 6,289,534, patient lift devices are disclosed which include wheeled support structures that allow the devices to be wheeled from place-to-place in a health care facility and used as stand alone equipment (i.e., they are not attached to the floor, ceiling or other fixture in the room). However, these devices typically require relatively heavy materials to provide the structural strength necessary to handle the bending moments and vertical forces encountered during use. As a result, these devices are expensive to manufacture and quite heavy, making them unsuitable for many health care facilities and home care situations.
Thus, there is a need for an improved patient lifting apparatus that is lightweight and capable of being temporarily attached to a fixture within the patient's room to lift and transport the patient to and from the patient's bed.